See.Think.Do with Tyler Williams-Green
Mentoring budding architects, launching a charity and keeping a running community tight during a Pandemic with founder Tyler Williams-Green
Hi Tyler. Whereabouts are you at the moment?
At my flat getting ready to head to a place called Birch. My very good friend Laura who’s been integral in setting up the outrunners charity and I are going to go there and have a nice meal as a treat for becoming a charity this year!
What is getting you excited right now?
Taking some time out for some down time! We just finished our Run your career careers month which was an amazing opportunity for the great young people across hackney. But jeeez was it knackering to arrange.
The Outrunners Charity is doing amazing things. Tell us about it...what sparked the idea?
Why thank you….I come from a youth and community work background. Alongside this about six years ago I set up the running club. I began to notice a lot of my runners saying that they wanted to feel more connected with the local hackney community which they live in and not just part of the problem of gentrification. From my years of working with young people I know that there’s a serious lack of good access to opportunities and young people are striving for them. A lot of my runners are successful creatives or business owners so I decided to blend the two together and Run your career was born, which is our career mentoring programme.
Since then we have also launched our youth running club, a mentoring programme which also does food drops to vulnerable families. So far we’ve done over 900!
What are you most proud of (so far)?
So, for me this year there’s a couple.
The first being our Run Your Career event. We had over 120 young people queuing up in the rain for it which was really inspiring, and shows that they see it as a exciting and worthwhile opportunity.
And the second was being asked by The North Face to be on their ‘reset’ campaign talking about how I can get the Outrunners to be more active in their community.
Wow, good question. Keeping a running club tight during a pandemic aint easy.
For the adult running club we set weekly challenges and had online classes. And for our mentoring programmes we went virtual. For instance, for our architecture programme we sent the kids out model packs to design their perfect building and an architect talked them through the brief. We also delivered over 900 food parcels which kept us pretty busy.
THINK.
What's been inspiring you recently?
Honestly… Our crew and extended crew. I’ve found it really inspiring that our Outrunners Crew and extended family have all wanted to be part of what we do in the local community. The fact that the crew have been doing things to actively give back even though they might have lost their jobs due to the pandemic is next level. BIG UPS CREW!
What helps you stay positive?
Movement. Got to keep on moving! Join our running club… Shameless plug. And making sure you surround yourself with people who uplift you. If that's something you don't have then try and find one. There are some amazing groups you can join that will welcome you as part of their community. We're social beings and I think it's always good to remember that.
How do you approach mental health? What helps you manage it?
Staying active and taking time out for myself. That might be going for a run or doing a yoga class. Also trying to get good sleep. At night I try and listen to some chilled music or an audio book. Turn that computer screen or TV off!
DO.
What’s your advice for taking the first step towards a new challenge?
Think small. Don't try and do it all at once. Set yourself a small target, get that right and then expand. I use that same thought process with running and even setting up the charity.
Any bad habits you’d like to kick?
The odd cheeky rolly, don't tell anyone though, I’m a running coach.
What’s the next adventure?
Next year is a big one! We are launching two new running clubs. One thats aimed at people who have never run before and another one for teenagers aged 13-19.
Also, hopefully a tropical holiday somewhere. I love a good beach.
Tyler RECOMMENDS;
Top Local Spot…. Hackney Marshes. Best places for a run in East London
Watch out for: Sidders
Best new thing? Adrienne's power hour podcast
Smallest change/ biggest impact: Working on my sleep
Your message in a bottle: When are the raves starting again?
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What's doing at Days (from Mike & Duncs)
Doing: Forward Fours
Trying: Padel Tennis (pre lockdown)
Reading: Billion Dollar Loser
Learning: About Amazon